LIVING PURPOSEFULLY: THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF EXAMINING YOUR PORTFOLIO

LIVING PURPOSEFULLY: THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF EXAMINING YOUR PORTFOLIO

May 6, 2019

Having a high-net-worth can bring with it many benefits, but it certainly doesn’t guarantee life satisfaction. With abundant resources, some high-net-worth-individuals are happy with the way that they spend their time and money, while others, particularly if they were entrepreneurs who have had a liquidity event, often feel disjointed, off-kilter, and unsure of their life’s purpose now that their business has been sold.

Finding Purpose by Asking Questions

Finding the answer to “What’s next?” or “How do I want to live my life?” can be challenging. These questions can often seem broad and overwhelming, leaving you unsure how to even start. While it might not sound intuitive, looking at your portfolio and asking questions about how you save, spend, and what’s important to you, can actually help clarify these big life questions. Many TIGER 21 Members have realized this first-hand during their annual Portfolio Defense.

A pillar of TIGER 21 membership is the Portfolio Defense. Conducted once annually by each Member, it allows that individual to take a step back with a small group of trusted TIGER 21 peers, and lay out and then examine the possible answers to some of these very questions by looking at their specific investments and finances.

Benefits of Examining Your Portfolio

Adaptation The Portfolio Defense is highly customized and individualized, and over the course of a person’s membership, the questions and issues often change. For example, early on Members may want insight into their overall asset allocation, while a few years later they may want to hear thoughts about the next phase of their philanthropic journey or perhaps guidance on how much funding to provide a child starting a new business or buying a home.

Learn from Others The portfolio discussion includes insights and experiences shared by the Group. These conversations help individuals understand the relationships between strategies and objectives, and also shines a light on issues to think about for the entire Group, not just the Member presenting the Portfolio Defense.

Happiness & Alignment Using a sophisticated process in an objective, unbiased, and confidential Group setting can help increase happiness and alignment with purpose for those who choose to engage and ask challenging questions of themselves and their peers.

Aha! Moments

One Member stated his desire for a simplified life. However, when he assessed the types of deals in which he was currently investing, he realized they were overly complicated and taking a large portion of his time. He decided to pull back from investing in complex deals that required so much of his attention, in order to streamline his life and focus on his philanthropic initiatives.

Another Member discovered a path to her “true north.” She gained clarity on ways to engage in new philanthropic endeavors that matched her values and began to align her time with things that mattered most to her .

One other Member uncovered simple ways to increase his happiness quotient. After consulting with his Group, he decided to revisit his spending habits and made his new practices explicit within his family. This significantly reduced conflict with his partner and created greater clarity and ease with his entire family.

The process of examining one’s portfolio is as unique as the individuals involved in the Portfolio Defense themselves. Being able to step back with like-minded individuals to review one’s personal goals as they relate to finances and time can be powerful and promote a life with greater purpose.

Roberta Sydney is a TIGER 21 Chair in Boston. She has extensive and varied experience as a private company board member. Ms. Sydney spent her career in real estate development and management of residential, office, and retail properties, and is a sought-after speaker on Governance and Real Estate topics.

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